A Coventry sub-postmaster has welcomed a House of Commons debate which he believes has uncovered the unfair marketing of the post office card account.

Postmasters picketed outside the Houses of Parliament along with representatives from Help the Aged and the Women?s Institute, on Thursday while Martin O?Neill, Labour MP and chairman of the trade and industry select committee, led a debate into the issue.

He told MPs the Department for Work and Pensions had created a complicated system which made it harder to get post office card accounts, and revealed leaked figures from the department which showed they hoped to curb the number of cards issued to those people who couldn?t access bank accounts.

Postmasters in Coventry feel the system is turning customers away.

Ray Young, sub-postmaster at Jubilee Crescent post office in Radford, said: ?There is no doubt there is an unhealthy bias in the way the card account is marketed that?s steering people away despite the fact the government has reassured the public they are committed to a network of post offices.

?One thing I do want to get clear is the more people who stay with us, the more offices we will be able to keep open.?

Colin Baker, general secretary of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, said: ?We agree wholeheartedly with Martin O?Neill?s comments that the leaked documents demonstrate the ?malign attitudes of the DWP? and his assessment that the bias of the Department for Work and Pensions ?has not improved and is getting worse?.?

A spokesman for the DWP denied there was any bias, adding: ?Direct payments give people more choice and flexibility about how they receive their benefits.

?We are supplying customers with information that clearly sets out their account options. Anyone who wants to open a post office card account will be able to open one. There is no cap on numbers.?